Sigman, Hooper 1-2 in Saugus Main

On a night Gary Sigman of Carson needed only to finish the 40-lap main event to win the Sportsman title at Saugus Speedway on Saturday night, his greatest concern was a mysterious vibration on the right side of his car.

Lance Hooper of Palmdale, the defending champion and only driver with a chance to overtake Sigman, needed a victory combined with a non-finish by Sigman.

Hooper and Sigman started the main event side by side on the pole and were running first and second after 13 laps when the race was stopped because a red flag that was waved when Lee Ladd of Thousand Oaks spun out in the third turn. The field was on Lap 16 when this edition to press.

Sigman and Hooper, last year’s points champion, entered the evening with 312 and 286 points. Hooper gained two points, winning the Sportsman trophy dash (worth three points) and Sigman scored a point with a third-place finish in a heat race to trail, 314-289.

“I don’t feel any personal pressure. I’m more concerned about the car finishing than me personally. We’ve got a vibration we can’t get out. It’s been bothering us all day and slowing the car down. We fixed the clutch this week and it must be a mismatched part or something. And it’s all we can assume.”

Hooper, 25, won seven main events, but Sigman built his advantage with consistency, winning only once but finishing among the top five in 11 of 15 starts and among the top 10 in all races.

Sigman, 53, was seeking his first title in five years on the Saugus circuit after finishing second to Hooper last season.

“Winning a championship at any age is an achievement,” Sigman said. “It doesn’t make a difference whether 21 or 50.”

In the 25-lap Street Stock main event, abbreviated to 23 laps, Jeff Saelid of San Dimas moved from fourth to first on Lap 15 to outdistance Russ Wolf of Palmdale.

Saelid, who trailed Rod Cerven of Palmdale by 10 points in the season standings, took a one-point advantage after Cerven, who won the trophy dash earlier in the night, failed to finish after spinning out with Eric Sunness of Canyon Country on the 10th lap.

Mike Kirby of Harbor City overtook pole sitter David Andrews of Frazier Park on the second lap to win the 20-lap Grand American Modified main event.

Other trophy-dash winners included Jim Marlewski of Simi Valley (Grand American Modified), Dean Grizzaffi of Granada Hills (Hobby Stock) and Russ Wolff of Palmdale (Street Stock figure-eight).